Emirati poet Adel Khozam leads global poetry project 'Manseerah'

In a unique global poetic project, Emirati writer and poet Adel Khozam, a pioneer of literary modernism in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arabian Gulf, has launched a global poetic epic titled Manseerah.

The collective work was co-authored by 86 poets from over 50 countries, including Pakistan, offering a poetic reflection on what can be described as the "human odyssey".

The project, a first of its kind and scale in the history of global poetry, aims to present a universal poetic text that expresses the contemporary human experience — its concerns, hopes, and dreams — amid the challenges of the 21st century.

The Arabic edition has been released by Dar Altakween, with its new branch in Sharjah, UAE, and Khozam has chosen the Sharjah International Book Fair 2024 as the platform to launch this ambitious project, in recognition of this global cultural institution.

Khozam is currently working on releasing the book in major world languages, with English, Spanish, Chinese, and Bengali versions already in preparation.

The Emirati writer is recognised as one of the most prominent poets from the Arabian Gulf on the global stage. He has published over 20 works, spanning poetry, novels, philosophy, studies, and translations.

Throughout his literary career, he has won numerous awards from poetry festivals in India, China, the United States, Europe, and Russia. Notably, he launched the anthology World Poetry Tree, featuring contributions from over 400 poets across 106 countries, during the UAE’s hosting of Expo Dubai 2020.

The voice of world poets

In presenting the book, Khozam said that joint authorship has always been a field of experimentation for many poets throughout history. Indeed, numerous poets have authored and expanded upon many ancient epics across different eras.

This reflects that, while some may consider literature to be a personal endeavor, grand epics often take on a collective nature, even if attributed to a single poet.

In his introduction, Khozam notes that this epic presents a new poetic form that embodies an infinite variety of poetic, narrative, and stylistic techniques, including fragments, short sections, direct expository passages, and symbolic allusions.

Together, these elements create a unique and innovative textual and rhetorical structure. At the same time, the epic demonstrates the boundless power of language to convey ideas in forms that, though sometimes oppositional, can merge artistically to create a fresh, exploratory text within literary practice.

Most notably, this endeavour draws from languages worldwide, producing a universal poetic work capable of expressing the essence of today’s human experience.

Global and Arab presence

The Manseerah epic was co-authored by a distinguished group of renowned poets from around the world. These include:

1. Paolo Ruffilli - Italy

2. Germain Droogenbroodt - Belgium

3. Saif al-Rahbi - Oman

4. Álvaro Maio - Portugal

5. Chrys Salt - UK

6. Conceição Lima - São Tomé and Príncipe

7. Shurouk Hammoud - Syria

8. Eugenia Sánchez Nieto - Colombia

9. Keamogetsi Joseph Molapong - Namibia

10. Zakia El Marmouke - Morocco

11. Irma Kurti - Albania

12. Beppe Costa - Italy

13. Abdukakhor Kosim - Tajikistan

14. Jüri Talvet - Estonia

15. Zhang Zhi - China

16. Nahid Kabiri - Iran

17. María Chapp - Argentina

18. Ayo Ayoola-Amale - Nigeria

19. Shirani Rajapakse - Sri Lanka

20. Tarek Eltayeb - Sudan

21. Jalal Zangabady - Iraqi Kurdistan

22. Moëz Majed - Tunisia

23. Les Wicks - Australia

24. Taeko Uemura - Japan

25. Kwazi Ndlangisa - South Africa

26. Zahir Al Ghafri - Oman

27. Poul Lynggaard Damgaard - Denmark

28. Sue Zhu - New Zealand

29. Hamid Larbi - Algeria/France

30. Renato Sandoval Bacigalupo - Peru

31. Tendo Taijin - Japan

32. Francis Kurkievicz - Brazil

33. Maria Grech Ganado - Malta

34. Saad Al-Dousari - Saudi Arabia

35. Lee Kuei-shien - Taiwan

36. Bassam Jwohur - Yemen

37. Wansoo Kim - South Korea

38. Kama Sywor Kamanda - Congo

39. Ghassan Zaqtan - Palestine

40. Dimitris P. Kraniotis- Greece

41. Mahmoud Quorani - Egypt

42. Siamir Marulafau - Indonesia

43. Catherine Graham - Canada

44. Yolanda Felicita Rodríguez Toledo - Cuba

45. Hamdi Meça - Albania

46. Rahim Karim - Kyrgyzstan

47. Jordi Valls - Spain

48. Anna Cates - United States

49. Muhsin Al-Ramli - Iraq

50. Stoianka Boianova - Bulgaria

51. Tabassum Tahmina Shagufta Hussein - Bangladesh

52. Rosabelle Illes - Aruba

53. Dr. Aprilia Zank - Germany

54. Fernando Rendón - Colombia

55. Aminur Rahman - Bangladesh

56. Yousef Abou Louz - Jordan

57. Agnes Meadows - United Kingdom

58. Khulood Al Mualla - UAE

59. Khalid Albudoor - UAE

60. Jane Hirshfield - United States

61. Fiona Sampson - United Kingdom

62. Hannie Rouweler - Netherlands

63. Azam Abidov - Uzbekistan

64. Layla Al Sayed - Bahrain

65. Thor Stefánsson - Iceland

66. Anne Casey - Ireland

67. George Wallace - United States

68. Dr. Naila Hina - Pakistan

69. Fazil Jamili - Pakistan

70. Eliza Segiet - Poland

71. Mai Văn Phấn - Vietnam

72. Yusuf Kadel - Mauritius

73. Keshab Sigdel - Nepal

74. Dr. Fowziyah AbuKhalid - Saudi Arabia

75. Vadim Terekhin - Russia

76. Rati Saxena - India

77. Naida Mujkic - Bosnia and Herzegovina

78. Anna Keiko - China

79. Mariko Sumikura - Japan

80. Francis Combes - France

81. Nurduran Duman - Turkey

82. Ashraf Aboul-Yazid - Egypt

83. Adamou IDE - Niger

84. Alvinus Melius - Saint Lucia

85. Cao Shui - China

86. Nada Ounsi El Hage - Lebanon